Daily Inspiration: Meet Laura Powers

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Powers.

Hi Laura, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I had the great good fortune to be mentored by an artist named Linda McGill in Durham North Carolina. I met her when I was still in college and she started training me in design, sales, and management while I was finishing my degree in Economics at Duke University.

I worked and was trained at her beautiful store, Jewelsmith. Linda taught me a great deal about colored gemstones. She had an all female staff at the time and was a great supporter of up and coming women. I apprenticed with Linda for 5 years. When I was ready to move on, she suggested that I apply to Tiffany and Company. I don’t think I would have had the self confidence to go for that job if she had not encouraged me.

I was the sales manager at Tiffany Atlanta for 2 years. Tiffany provided my training in natural mined diamonds at the Gemological Institute of America and taught me a great deal about customer service.

While I was at Tiffany Atlanta I became aware of what was missing in this market. I observed that Atlanta had 2 kinds of jewelry businesses. There were inexpensive chain stores selling low quality jewelry, and there were expensive high end retailers. There was no one doing high quality custom, no one doing anything very creative or interesting, and customer service was terrible across the board.

I started Laura Powers Jewelry Stylist in 1990 with the goal of filling that gap. I wanted to give a very high level of personal service and produce custom designed and manufactured pieces for a fair price.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’ve been in business for 35 years and some things have definitely changed! There have been big changes in my industry.

First the move to certification of most natural diamonds. That was a great thing and needed to happen to protect consumers from unscrupulous jewelers and diamond dealers.

The increasing availability of online jewelers has also changed the industry. There is more healthy competition, but I see a lot of unhappy customers in my store who have been misinformed and misled by online dealers. Fine jewelry is a big expenditure for most people, and you need someone you can trust and who will be there for you if you have issues. Online vendors simply cannot provide that.

And then there are the social aspects of being a woman in business. I opened Laura Powers Jewelry Stylist in 1990. I was 27 years old. Being taken seriously was a major issue for me right from the start. I had to prove my knowledge and competence every single day. It was exhausting, but I persisted. I am a first hand witness to how much things have improved for women in business. It’s not perfect now, but it is a whole lot better than it was in 1990 and improving every year.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I think my biggest strength is in listening to my client and distilling what he or she really wants. Some clients come to me with a clear vision of what the finished piece should be, and it’s my job to execute it perfectly. Those are the easiest jobs.

Many more come to me knowing that they cannot find what they want, but without a clear idea of what their one of a kind piece should look like. For them, my job is to listen, look and intuit what to make for them. It’s challenging, but also extremely satisfying to help someone crystalize and clarify their vision and make it a reality.

I have had the time and experience to gather craftsman of the highest caliber. I can execute highly technical and detailed pieces that few jewelers could complete. If we are talking about jewelry, if it can be done, I can do it. It took a long time to gather this team and I am very proud of what we can do together.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
An encouraging change that I see happening now is women purchasing fine jewelry for themselves. When I started my business my clients were almost exclusively men purchasing for women. A woman was expected to wait for a man to give her something nice. Not any more.

More women every year are spending money on jewelry for themselves, often as a reward for professional success. I think that as women’s financial status climbs closer and closer to that of men, we will see more and more of that trend. Women are validating themselves, not waiting for validation from a man.

We will also see more information made available about the sourcing and mining practices surrounding diamonds and gemstones. Consumers want to know where and how things were mined and if it was done humanely and responsibly. The Gemological Institute of America is not currently reporting place of origin for finished diamonds, but I think that is coming.

I think we will also see greater availability of interesting and artistic jewelry. The internet is providing exposure for talented newcomers doing creative work, and expanding consumer’s concepts of what fine jewelry can be. The American marketplace is saturated with mass produced jewelry that all looks alike and I hope to see movement towards jewelry as a unique form of self expression.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://laurapowersjewelry.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Laura-Powers-Jewelry-Stylist-100071148227623/
• Other: https://simplybuckhead.com/forever-fashionable/